The Actuaries Institute has crowned Finity Consulting Principals Rade Musulin and Sharanjit Paddam with this year’s Actuary of the Year Award for their work in developing solutions for climate change and sustainability. 

The award is usually individual but this year the nominations committee agreed both winners were “highly influential” after contributing to many submissions to government, regulatory bodies, and independent inquiries on climate-related matters.  

They have both received the Institute’s Distinguished Service Award in the past. 

“They have exemplified how actuaries can use data for good to lead, innovate, and influence change on a global scale,” Actuaries Institute President Naomi Edwards said. 

Mr Musulin is an actuary who has specialised in natural perils, catastrophe risk modelling, public policy development and sustainability for more than 40 years, and is the lead spokesperson for the Australian Actuaries Climate Index and lead author of research paper ‘Property Insurance Affordability: Challenges and Potential Solutions’.  

He is a former chair of the Institute’s Climate and Sustainability Working Group and will represent the actuarial profession later this year at COP28 in Dubai. 

“Our unique skillset means we have a responsibility to help people understand how these challenges are going to impact their lives,” Mr Musulin said.  

Mr Paddam is an award-winning actuary with three decades of climate risk experience and represented the Actuaries Institute as an expert witness at the Royal Commission into National Arrangements for Natural Disasters.  

He has advised the Insurance Council of Australia on evaluating adaptation and resilience measures, convened the Institute’s Climate Change Working Group, and was a contributing author to the IPCC AR6 Working Group II Report. 

“Our job is to provide long-term thinking to make practical decisions that will build a more sustainable and resilient future for all,” he said.